Small Potatoes
by SonicH2O
Summary: 5 years since the yin case closed. 4 since Shawn left. 3 since Carlton became Chief. 2 since Gus got engaged. 1 since a serial killer claimed his first victim. With Shawn back in town for Gus's wedding everything is about to change. Post S5. Shules.
1. Chapter 1

_The rating is to be safe. As are the warnings. I'm not sure how graphic it will get...but I get squeamish writing things that are too intense lol, so it probably won't be anything too bad?_

_Here goes nothing..._

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**1989:**

_The horns were playing in the background. Shawn could barely hear them over the cacophony of sobbing that seemed to surround him. Self consciously he wiped his hand across his nose. His father was standing next to him, his arm in a sling, staring at the coffin in front of them. But his father wasn't crying. So he wouldn't either._

_The sea of black moved around him in unison, almost like everyone was dancing. He felt his throat tighten and he was unable to stop the small sniffle that made its way past his lips. His father's free hand came down and calmly rested on his shoulder. Shawn glanced up at his dad, watching the way his father took in all the details in front of him even though he wasn't moving. He was just…staring at the coffin._

_It had been lunchtime when the school had heard about the shooting across town. Shawn had overheard some teachers talking about it. His face darkened at the memory. It had been a full hour before anyone had come to get him. Another twenty minutes of explanation before they'd finally told him the only information he'd cared about-yes, his father had been involved and yes he was ok._

_The shooting had taken two victims though. One bystander had been caught in the crossfire._

_And a fellow police officer had fallen._

_Henry's former partner Stevie. They'd been with their new partners and had responded to the 911 call._

_The coffin started its descent to burial and Henry's hand tightened around Shawn's small shoulder to the point that it was almost painful._

_Shawn bit back a wince and decided not to say anything. His dad was there to squeeze his arm too tightly. He glanced past the coffin, Stevie's wife, Linda, and daughter Rachel were sobbing openly as they clung to each other. Shawn felt the lump return to his throat again._

_The ceremony was coming to a close and people started to drift away aimlessly._

_Shawn felt his father pat his arm reassuringly. "I'll be back soon kid," his father muttered stiffly, moving towards Linda._

_Unable to fight the large wave of black that pushed him backwards Shawn watched the exchange quietly from across the cemetery. His father hugged Linda tightly before squatting down to Rachel. He said something that brought the faintest quiver of a smile to the girl's lips._

_Shawn cocked his head slightly as he watched. His father's back was ridged, a sure sign that he was in pain. Whether it was from the gunshot wound he'd taken in the arm or from the funeral and grief he wasn't sure. Despite it, his father moved through the crowd to those he knew, seeming to know the right thing to say to everyone. He smiled, used his left hand to shake some hands, nodded, gave and received supportive slaps on the back._

_Shawn felt his lip quiver. He'd liked Stevie. Stevie was flippant and liked to laugh loudly. And now he was dead. And his dad had been shot. He shivered, wrapping his arms around himself tightly. Making sure he was safely tucked behind a tree where no one would see him, Shawn allowed himself to sink against the trunk of a large oak tree. He ran his hand under his nose again._

_It could have been his dad._

_He buried his head against his arms, feeling his whole body ache as he held back sobs._

_"Shawn?" his father's voice startled him and Shawn bounced to his feet quickly wiping his hand across his face._

_Shawn stared up at his father silently. His father quirked an eyebrow as he appraised his sons appearance. Slowly the elder Spencer squatted down so he was eyelevel with his son._

_"It…it coulda been you dad," Shawn whimpered, unable to hold back the fear as he crumbled against his father's chest._

_Henry sighed, bringing his free hand up to cup his son's trembling body. "I know kid," he murmured. He pulled back from his son suddenly, holding Shawn's arm firmly as he stared him in the eye. "And one day…it might be," Henry said seriously, feeling a knot grow in his chest. He refused to sugarcoat anything for his son; although he'd been damned if he went anywhere before his son knew everything he needed to be a good man. But the truth was there and Henry had never been one to shy away from the truth; he couldn't let Shawn shy away from it either. "One day kid everyone has to die," he hesitated, his throat tightened, "Even you Shawn," he said quietly._

_Shawn waited for a reassuring comment. For some joke-like he'd told Rachel-that would make him smile. Shawn desperately wanted to be able to smile. His father nodded stiffly and stood back up, his knees cracking loudly. "Let's go kid," he said softly, walking back towards the car slowly._

_Shawn stayed still for a long moment before jogging to catch up with his dad. He knew he was supposed to feel better. But he didn't._

**June. 2015.**

_Red covers the floors. It sinks into the wood until the wood just overflows, unable to hold anymore. Shawn slips, and is covered in it. It's sticky._

_Everything around him starts to shake and rumble._

_His hands are covered by the substance. It's finger paint! Shawn giggles. He wishes it were yellow-he'd paint a pineapple, just like he did in pre-school. He thinks on it for a moment. What the hell? He's obviously dreaming, he might as well make a red pineapple. It would be like a grapple only better. A mix of the sweet deliciousness of apples with the tangy tropic heaven that was pineapple. Hm. How to combine the names. Apple…Pine. Pine…apple? Pineapple!_

_It was brilliant. He stood up slowly, blown by his mind bending discovery. Apples were already in pineapples! He had to tell Gus. Slipping in the paint he pitches forward and the world stops shaking. It's not paint._

_Shawn screams and kicks out as he wakes up._

"Sir?" the flight attendant stared down at him in concern.

His eyes snap open and quickly skim over the cabin. No one else is there.

"Sir, we've touched down in Santa Barbara," the flight attendant stated slowly, still able to see the slight hint of madness in Shawn's eyes.

Shawn nodded politely and moved his hand up to his head to smooth out his hair. Instead his hand skimed over a prickly buzz cut. His grimaced. That was still new-and taking some getting used to. Though it had been necessary.

Shawn stood up shakily and pulled his duffle bag down from the overhead compartment. Slinging it over his shoulder he made his way out into the bustle of the Santa Barbara Airport.

He almost smiled as he glanced around; it looked exactly the same. Well, they'd added another Starbucks in the Northeast corner, but that was hardly a noteworthy change.

Making his way to the exit Shawn grinned. Gus would have been easy to pick out in the crowd, even if he hadn't been carrying a full pineapple with him-although it was a nice touch. They hugged silently.

Skipping all greetings, Gus instead cut to-what was to him-the most important issue, "What died on your face?" Gus frowned.

Shawn's hand went to his full-but impeccably groomed-facial hair. Well, it was more of a short beard now. He pursed his lips, "Gus, if Patrick Dempsey could grow facial hair it wouldn't look this good," he sounded offended. "It's chiseled. And manly," he added bopping his head.

Gus raised an eyebrow, "You have more hair on your face than on your head Shawn," Gus handed Shawn the pineapple and took Shawn's bag off his shoulder and started carrying it for him. Shawn bit back a grin.

Old habits.

"Gus I live in Canada. It gets cold," Shawn defended, casually checking his reflection on the metallic lid of a garbage can as they passed it. It looked fine-better than fine really.

"You're going to haveta shave it," Gus shrugged as he threw Shawn's bag into the trunk of the familiar blue Echo.

"The company still has you driving this huh?" Shawn smiled then frowned, "Wait What? Why on earth would I possibly agree to shave it?"

"There is no way Lauren will let you in the party photos with it," Gus paused as he started the car, "She has a really weird phobia about bearded men in photographs," Shawn cocked his head and opened his mouth to retort, "She made me promise not to ask her about it," Gus shrugged.

"Well you've got a little scruff going," Shawn pouted.

Gus grinned suavely, "This is a players look Shawn," he shrugged again," Lauren likes it."

"Ah," Shawn nodded, again biting back a grin. He shifted in his seat, "And how is the future Mrs. Burton Guster doing?"

Gus beamed, "She's ok. She has Lassiter running scared putting everything together so she isn't too stressed," Gus glanced at his best friend, "And in a few days well," he grinned excitedly. "We'll be relaxing in style in Jamaica."

Shawn smiled happily at his best friend. He'd been gone a while but he knew he'd never seen that glint in his best friends eye before. This really was for real. Not a crazy mistake like Mira. Shawn's smile widened. Speaking of which… "Does Lauren know about your ex-wife?"

Gus growled, "It's come up," he said stiffly, readjusting his eyes to the road.

"And?"

"Shawn," Gus said warningly, shooting his best friend a sharp glare.

Shawn laughed, "Gus don't worry, I would never bring up your first marriage. In fact, I like to pretend it never happened," Shawn kicked his chair back to give himself more leg room, "Because if it did happen then my best man speech would be completely ruined-which obviously can't happen," he grinned. "I leave you alone for a 5 minutes and you get married," Shawn shook his head ruthfully.

"It was a little more than five minutes Shawn," Gus said quietly, not meeting his friends eyes.

Shawn's smile froze. He licked his lips and turned back towards the window. "Yeah," he muttered quietly, "I…Gus I'm sorry about that…that it's been this long I just…" he shrugged helplessly. "I got busy," he finished lamely. He made a mental note to come up with a list of less lame excuses. Perhaps he could say he'd gotten stuck combing his hair? Or that he'd had the world's longest appendectomy? Both of those would be equally satisfying. Shawn rolled his eyes. He'd had the whole flight to think of something to say-hell, he'd had years to think of something. He ran his hand over his face, feeling hollow. There really weren't any words or excuses. He'd run. It was that simple.

Gus shifted uncomfortably next to him, his eyes darting over to his best friend. "Did you tell Juliet you were coming back?"

He watched Shawn's back stiffen.

"No ah…" Shawn searched for an explanation. "No." He sighed.

Gus swallowed hard. Sometimes Shawn really needed to be slapped upside the head. "You're going to haveta talk to her Shawn," Gus scolded.

"That's entirely untrue Gus," Shawn said flippantly, plastering an oversized smile onto his face. It didn't meet his eyes, and even if it had, neither of them would have bought it anyway, "I'll see her at the reception-maybe- and that'll be it," Shawn shrugged.

Gus shifted uncomfortably, "That's…not exactly accurate Shawn," he saw his friends face-and what was most likely a carefully thought out avoidance plan-crumble. "Juliet's the maid of honor," Gus explained quietly.

Shawn pursed his lips, "Well I definitely didn't see that one coming," he crossed his arms defensively.

Gus chuckled, "Well, when Lauren came back into town promoting her documentary we really hit it off," he glanced at Shawn and smirked, "And without you there to 'vet' everyone I tried to date I finally managed to keep a girl around. And well, since Juliet didn't have to act all...camera shy and weird…she and Lauren clicked. They've become pretty tight," Gus shrugged.

Shawn sucked in a breath, "Oh," he managed weakly.

Gus's knuckles tightened on the steering wheel, "Look, she's…you're going to have to face her eventually. You might as well do it on your own terms."

A sound came out of Shawn's throat that sounded vaguely like a growl. Out of his peripheral he saw Shawn nod his head in agreement. "I'll talk to her," he promised quietly.

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_Writing this made me realize I have a serious addiction to writing Shawn dream sequences. It's disturbingly addicting. But I promise, this dream sequence isn't a result of consitent drugging on Yin's part. Promise._

_Anyways, I hope this first chapter at least intrigues you. _

_Enjoy and Review!_


	2. Chapter 2

_Avoiding homework? Yard work? Work Work? _

_No problem. Here's a new chapter! Avoid responsibilities to your hearts content!_

_Shules heavy chapter ahead. _

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**January. 2011.**

_Juliet turned the page eagerly. It was her day off and she was curled up on her couch, catching up on her reading. She pulled her blanket tighter about her shoulders and glanced around her apartment uncertainly. The Yin case had closed less than a week ago. She shivered; even here in her own home, knowing Yin was dead, she still didn't feel completely safe._

_Her cat purred and rubbed up against her hand. Juliet smiled softly and scratched the purring creature under the ear. She was grateful for his company, to be sure. But he was no replacement for Shawn. Sadly, her boyfriend was off working some special 'urgent' case for the Chief._

_She was pretty sure Shawn was lying-he and Gus probably were engaged in one of their many ritualistic bonding traditions they'd amassed over 30 years of friendship. Today was probably some completely trivial anniversary of something or other that only had any real meaning to them. She rolled her eyes. Shawn was absurdly ridiculous sometimes, but that was why she lov-liked…him. A lot. Her face flushed._

_Besides Carlton would have called her if something big was going on._

_Suddenly a gunshot split through the quiet. Her cat screamed, its feet spinning like the roadrunner for a good ten seconds before it managed to make a break for the safety of Juliet's bedroom._

_Juliet meanwhile was on her feet. She ripped her gun out from its hiding place under her pillow and she made her way cautiously towards the front door. The gunshot had come from her driveway._

_She moved towards the door slowly, her heart was pounding loudly in her ears; it was the only noise in the newly settled silence. Her gun shook in her hand like it hadn't done in years. She steadied it and slowly unbolted her front door. Cracking it open, she used it to provide cover until she could establish where the shot had originated from._

_She stepped onto her porch, and spun towards her drive way._

_"Woah!" Shawn's hands shot up instinctively. "Jules?" he cocked his head, his eyes darting between the gun and her face in confusion._

_Quickly she lowered the gun and closed her eyes in relief. "Shawn, what did you do?"_

_Shawn's eyebrows shot up. "What? Me?" He tried to grin innocently and failed miserably._

_"You can put your arms down Shawn," she reminded him dryly._

_Shawn lowered them awkwardly. He smiled sheepishly, "Right…old habits," he shrugged. "That noise was just the car backfiring," he assured her._

_As his arms came down she frowned, catching sight of a large orange monstrosity behind him. She cocked her head to the side and brushed past him._

_Sitting in her driveway was the most beat up car she'd ever seen. She spun back to Shawn, "Is that a 1969 Dodge Charger-like from Duke's of Hazard?" She wouldn't put it past him to try and blow his money on an absurd relic like that. Though she was surprised Gus hadn't stopped him. She growled, oh who was she kidding. The car probably was Gus's._

_Shawn grinned, "God, I love that you know that," she blushed. "But sadly, it's a 1970 Dodge Charger." The 1969 models were insanely expensive._

_She pursued her lips. "And why is it sitting in my driveway?"_

_Shawn's grin fell. Her eyebrows knit together as she watched Shawn stuff his hands in his pockets._

_"Well, originally I was going to get an Echo. A black one. And call it the Blackberry. That way if Gus and I ever went driving together we'd match. But Gus didn't like that idea," Shawn smiled sadly. "And then I saw this and…," he sighed, "Well Jules, it was love."_

_She still didn't get it._

_Shawn licked his lips and nervously swayed back and forth. His mouth moved to form words but no sound was coming out. Juliet felt her heart rate accelerate. She could count the number of times she'd seen Shawn at a loss for words on one hand. Typically when that happened he was inches away from a major confession to her; though both times he'd done it before he'd been close to losing her forever; once to a deadly virus and the other time to their perpetual bad timing. She felt her cheeks flush._

_"I sold my bike," he admitted finally. Juliet opened her mouth then shut it. She was still learning to read him as a girlfriend, but she knew him well enough to know not to give him any opportunities to derail his confession. He had a very hard time staying focused sometimes. "I…," he sighed and moved closer to her, his hands moving to her arms, "I can't…I can't sit at the police station and promise to protect you then pick you up for a date and throw you on the back of a motorcycle Jules," he stared at her intently, hoping she understood what he was saying. He would protect her. When he'd promised her that in the interrogation room he'd meant it. And while he'd prefer for the situation to never arise, he would gladly take another bullet if it meant keeping her safe. But after Yin, well, he wanted more than anything for her to feel safe. And he needed to feel like he was the one making her feel that way._

_A silly grin spread across her face-which Shawn found beyond adorable-and she leaned up and gently pressed her lips against his. A small sigh escaped her lips as she pulled back, "Thank you," she whispered._

_Shawn grinned, feeling a wave of relief wash over him. She definitely understood. She knew him so well that sometimes it scared him._

_He laughed happily, his eyes sparkling and snaked an arm around her waist, pivoting both of them to stare at the large beat up car that was rusting before their eyes. "So, what do you think?" Shawn grinned._

_She smiled. Truth be told, it was easily the ugliest thing she had ever seen. She leaned her head against his shoulder. "It's perfect," she said quietly. And she meant it._

**June. 2015.**

Shawn forced himself to stop staring at the back of the squad car, shaking himself from the memory. He pushed the lump in his throat down, stuffed his hands into his pockets and trudged onwards. Gus had offered to give him a ride, but Shawn had declined. This was something he had to do on his own, and if Gus came it would be much too easy to stick him in the middle. Besides, he'd had to run a few secret errands to prepare for the Bachelor party he was planning for Gus.

He still had his old police scanner, and it had lead him here. A murder at an apartment complex.

Shawn took a deep breath, instinct taking over, and he waltzed up towards the crime tap confidently. He paused suddenly. The young officer guarding the entrance to the building was definitely not McNabb. He bit back a self deprecating smirk; life had definitely gone on in Santa Barbara without him. McNabb had probably risen the ranks at least a little since Shawn had last seen him. Hell, he might have transferred or even…Shawn's smile vanished, refusing to entertain such a grim option.

The weight of what he was about to do hit him and he inhaled deeply, resisting the urge to start Lamaze breathing-something he was horrified to find out Gus still did. He was still far enough away from the crime scene that his presence hadn't been detected. He could still turn back, slink off into the shadows and no one would ever know he had been there.

The door to the apartment complex swung open and his heart stopped. Head Detective Juliet O'Hara strode out of the building and promptly scolded one of the rookie officers for something before heading towards her squad car. Shawn sucked in a breath. Juliet looked as beautiful as ever; he didn't think she'd aged a day. She paused suddenly, as if aware that she was being watched and turned towards him slowly. Shawn felt his mouth run dry. She froze, literally like a deer in the headlights, before blinking slowly, her mouth setting into a small, somewhat grim, smile. Glancing both ways first, she crossed the street and joined him under the street lamp.

"Nice beard," she smirked, but it didn't quite meet her eyes.

Shawn's response caught in his throat. Almost four years of not speaking and that was her opener? He hadn't expected that, "You too huh? Everyone's so concerned with my facial hair," he pursed his lips, a hand coming up to his face unconsciously. Maybe he did need to shave it…

She shrugged and folded her arms across her chest. "Why are you here Shawn?"

"Well, that's what I came to talk to you about…I came back into town for Gus's wedding and-"

Juliet shook her head, "I knew you were coming back into town for that," Shawn frowned and opened his mouth to respond. She cut him off, already knowing the question on his mind, "No, Gus didn't call me. But come on who else would be his best man?" She smiled softly; she'd been bracing herself for his inevitable return for months-ever since Lauren had told her of the engagement.

Shawn nodded, trying to avoid staring at her in awe; even after all this time she knew him like a book. But he'd lost the right to stare at her long ago. "Why are you here?" she pointed to the crime scene behind them, "Specifically. Right this very moment," Shawn winced. She wasn't mean, but her tone was clipped-formal…cold even. He swallowed hard. He deserved it though. Formality, after what he'd done, well, it made her a saint in his book.

He shrugged uncomfortably, "I…I wanted to let you know I was back in town," she quirked an eyebrow, unsure of where he was going with that, "Just so it wouldn't be a surprise when you saw me at the rehearsal," Shawn elaborated quickly. He wasn't trying to win her back, wasn't trying to sneak back into her life. No ulterior motive. He was just being courteous.

"Ah," She nodded her head slowly. She bit her lip, resisting the urge to remind him that that level of curtsey would have been nice all those years ago when he'd left without a word.

The silence that followed was almost physically painful. Shawn stuffed his hands back into his pockets.

"Well," he said finally, "I should a…I should probably," he gestured his head down the street.

She cocked her head to the side, "Do you want to look at our crime scene?" she asked suddenly. The murder had been gruesome and Shawn had a way of finding the most important detail at a crime scene instantly. Given how high profile the case was, it would be nice to get a good lead from the get go.

She pursued her lips. She was not trying to prolong his visit for personal reasons. Not at all. This was strictly in the best interest of the case.

Shawn felt a grin pull at his lips. He did love crime scenes. "Jules," he shifted uncomfortably, "Technically speaking, Psych doesn't exist anymore. And civilians aren't allowed on crime scenes," he reminded her, raising an eyebrow.

She grinned, "Just don't tell the Head Detective," she said dryly. "Besides, you've been working cases in Vancouver right?"

Shawn frowned, "How did you…?"

Shawn was pretty sure her cheeks flushed, just a little bit, "Gus mentioned it," she explained with a shrug of her shoulders, not even bothering to look back at him as she crossed the street.

Shawn jogged to catch up with her. They walked in silence until they got to the police tape. "So Lassie's Chief now huh?" He couldn't hide the grin that spread across his face.

Juliet grinned, her eyes rolling instinctively at his tone, "It's not that bad," she said calmly.

"And by 'not that bad' you mean what exactly? It's not that bad like the Star Wars prequels 'weren't that bad'? Or 'not that bad' like that remake of Bonnie and Clyde they did with Hilary Duff and the Canadian model from the Air Bud movies wasn't 'that bad'?" He cocked his head and smirked, before his mind caught up with his mouth and he sighed heavily in irritation. The words-the flippant references- just slipped out, without thought. It was habit to him. But he couldn't do that, he had no right to that…banter…with her. He couldn't pretend like everything was normal, couldn't just try and pick up where he'd left off like he hadn't missed years of her life.

"Definitely more like the Star Wars prequels," she agreed, shivering as she thought of the Bonnie and Clyde remake. God that had been a disaster. They started up the stairs to the apartment complex.

"And you're Head Detective now?" Shawn inquired. Gus had said as much during dinner the night before.

She nodded.

"If Lassie's stuck at the department all day…who's you're new partner?" Shawn asked slowly. Partner changes were always a touchy subject among officers. The level of loyalty between good partners-like Juliet and Lassie had been-was hard to replace, and changing partners was rarely an easy transition.

Juliet grinned, knowing Shawn wouldn't believe her answer, "Buzz McNabb," she answered, pausing just long enough to watch the stunned expression that crossed his face before she continued up the stairs.

"Wait wait-" Shawn's hand reached out, his fingers pausing just short of her arm; he quickly retracted them as she spun to face him, her eyes dancing with amusement. "Buzz McNabb? Buzz McNabb is your partner?" He repeated himself incredulously.

Juliet smirked, "Carlton put us together as soon as Buzz made Detective," she smiled, "He thought that if he put me with McNabb I'd be forced to learn how to play 'bad cop'."

Shawn chuckled, "And did you?" Somehow he doubted it.

"Not even a little bit. The first eight perps we interrogated together were so confused by our good cop, better cop routine that they caved within ten minutes," she smirked proudly.

Shawn laughed, wishing he could have seen Lassiter's befuddled expression as case after case was solved without having to crack anything like a bad back.

Juliet scrutinized him quietly, apparently debating whether or not to say something. Shawn shifted uncomfortably under her intense gaze. "Buzz didn't make detective right away though," she cocked her head thoughtfully, making sure to keep eye contact with him, "Not until a really helpful 'How to' book on Detective work came out," Shawn swallowed hard. Juliet kept throwing him curve balls. He hadn't expected this to come up either. "Maybe you've heard of it Shawn-it was a bestseller. It was written by a Canadian author from what I hear. But they used a pseudonym-'Justin Tyme'," her smirk faded, "It was called 'Counting Hats: Everything You Need is Right in Front of You'," she stared at him quietly.

Shawn pursed his lips and nodded slowly. "Catchy title," he agreed flatly.

Juliet nodded in agreement, "Yeah, but a really bad pseudonym," Shawn shrugged.

"Well not every pseudonym can be a winner Jules," he winced instantly, wishing he hadn't used his old nickname for her. He sighed regretfully but plowed ahead, "Maybe they tried multiple pseudonyms, like Michael Knight or Thomas Magnum but they got shut down by their editor," he pursed his lips into a pout at the memory, "You never know," he smiled innocently.

She chuckled. "I guess not," she turned and resumed walking up the stairs, her heels clicking on every step. Shawn glanced up the stair well; there were a lot of steps.

"What floor are we going to?" he asked nervously.

"The 9th. Why?" she looked at him quizzically.

He shrugged, "Oh no reason," he waited till she turned her back on him to wipe his hand across his sweaty neck. It was just a lot of stairs, that was all.

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_Fun Trivia Fact: The Bonnie and Clyde remake Shawn references is a real thing. Suppose to come out later this year. Do yourself a favor and rent the original instead ;)_

_Next chapter: More Shules. And more Angst. I'm about to start writing chapter 5 so again, I can crank out these updates!_

_Enjoy and review!_


	3. Chapter 3

_This fic makes me so nervous lol..._**

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**May. 2011.**

_Shawn stared quietly at the woman seething at him from across the table. "Jules…please," his voice cracked. She shook her head and shoved herself away from the table, refusing to meet his eyes._

_Two nights ago she'd told him she loved him. They'd been lying in bed, and as she had drifted off he'd caught the words, barely a whisper, as they left her lips._

_His heart had stopped._

_His first instinct, the one learned from years of meaningless dating and even more years of avoiding commitment of any sort, screamed at him to get the hell out- to run as fast as he could in any direction as long as it was away from commitment._

_But then Juliet had shifted slightly against him, her arm tightening around his waist, her face buried against his shoulder, and it had made his stomach do this little flip flop thing like it was trying out for the Olympics and thought it was Nastia Liukin, and he'd come back to his senses._

_And he realized his second instinct-the one that wasn't trained into him from years of self consciousness and self doubt-was to wake her up and say it back._

_It was a third instinct that had won out though-an instinct whose voice sounded suspiciously like an amalgamation of Gus's and his father's voices. It reminded him of The Lie that he was leading._

_That whole pesky him not actually being psychic business._

_Shivering, he'd brushed a strand of hair from her face, his mind made up. He had to tell her._

_And so with Gus's blessing, he had finally sat down and told Juliet the truth._

_It was not going particularly well._

_"So…" she inhaled deeply, her eyes shining with tears, "You've been…" her voice cracked, "You've been faking-lying-to the department. To me…this entire time," she stared at him intently; offering him the chance to yell April Fool's and take it all back as a sick joke. The look in her eye was making it a tempting offer._

_Shawn's mouth opened, and then closed slowly, feeling his chest tighten as panic seized him as a terrifying truth hit him. He could lose her. He could really lose her. She might leave him and there wouldn't be a thing he could do about it. Never mind the future of Psych or that he could go to jail, she could walk out of his life today and he'd have no one to blame but himself._

_Every defense mechanism he had seemed to surge up inside him and take charge, "Well, lie is such a strong-negative-word," he explained flippantly._

_"Shawn," she warned, her teeth grit together as if physically pained._

_He nodded his head, biting his lip to hold in another cavalier remark._

_They were both silent as she paced. He stared at her, trying to gleam any information, any hint, into what she was thinking. She was hurt, furious, obviously; it was radiating off of her. He felt any hope he'd had going into this whole situation wither and die in his chest._

_"How?" she broke the silence, her voice cracking again. "In the beginning, I doubted…but you just…you kept being right and eventually…" she swallowed hard. She felt like an idiot for having ever believed his charade._

_Shawn paused and licked his lips, "Do you remember the day we met?" he stared at her seriously, his voice low, pained._

_For a millisecond a smile threatened to make its way onto her face. How could she forget that? "Of course I do," she responded, sounding offended. She folded her arms over her chest defensively._

_Shawn inhaled deeply. "You had short grey hair on your left shoe. White hair on your right sleeve," he licked his lips again, "That's how I knew about your cats," he swallowed, "I saw the picture of your parents in your purse," he shrugged, "Estimated your age and theirs. Roughly 30 years of marriage," he fidgeted uncomfortably as she stared at him incredulously._

_"You got all of that from a photo and some hair," she cocked an eyebrow in disbelief._

_"I…" he bopped his head from side to side, "Hair, photo, over 20 years of training," he shrugged; it was all the same to him._

_Her face darkened. Right. The training. She felt a knot form in her chest. Juliet was furious, there was no doubt, but a large part of her was just reeling from Shawn's confession. What sort of childhood could he possibly have had amidst training that made him more thorough then the department's best detectives?_

_"And the college thing?"_

_His face flushed and he offered her a small lopsided grin. "Come on Jules, you were gorgeous, smart, confident," he shrugged, "It was an educated guess." She watched as his brow furrowed together and the way his eyes quickly skimmed over her nervously._

_Against her will she felt her stomach flutter. She stared at him, feeling him shrink further away from her, unable to meet her eyes. It hit her that she'd never seen him so…vulnerable._

_Juliet tried to push down the lump rising in her throat. She wanted to focus on that, on what his confession meant about their relationship-his maturity even-…but she just felt so…used? Betrayed? Hurt? She wasn't sure what the right word was. She loved him-or at least, she loved who she thought he was. Was he still the same person? Where did the lie end and the real part of their relationship begin?_

_"Jules," Shawn licked his lips and started towards her. She held up a hand, she couldn't have him near her right now, and he stopped short, just out of reach, "Say something…please," his voice cracked._

_"Shawn," she shook her head and gave a mirthless laugh, "I don't know what to say right now," She put her hands on her head, it was so overwhelming. "I just…I don't," she felt a tear sneak its way from her eye and start down her cheek._

_Juliet sniffed, wiping her hand across her face. She trembled slightly, she wouldn't cry. Another tear pushed its way out. Damnit._

_Shawn took a step towards her, hands out stretched. She stepped back, arms hugged tightly around herself. His brow furrowed; it hurt him to see her like this, and it killed him to know that he was the cause._

_"Why now?" she whispered. "Why after all this time did you decide to tell me?"_

_He trembled, "Jules…I told you because…because I love you," he said finally, staring straight at her, not blinking. He felt his heart beating in his ears. He'd never said those words before, not to anyone. And more importantly, he'd never before meant them._

_And there it was; the two biggest truths of his life and she knew them both. Shawn was vaguely aware of the fact that he wasn't breathing._

_She stared at him, no emotion, no recognition-no acknowledgement- of his words._

_"Shawn I just…I need some space…right now," she said slowly, her voice flat, emotionless._

_Shawn sucked in a ragged breath, feeling like he'd been punched in the stomach. He nodded silently, not able to make his voice work, and watched as she slammed the door to the Psych Office on her way out._

**June. 2015.**

Shawn felt his throat tighten as he stared at the green apartment door leading to the crime scene. That hadn't been a good day.

"Shawn?" Juliet cocked her head slightly. Her hand hovered inches from his shoulder. "Are you ok?"

He blinked and exhaled deeply. "Yeah…yeah, I'm fine Detective," he nodded cheerfully, offering her a slight grin as he pulled himself back to the present.

She frowned, not entirely convinced.

He licked his lips, "So, what's the deal?"

"David Raymond, age 42, single, lived alone," she beckoned for him to follow her into the apartment.

Juliet winced. She'd already been through the apartment, but this was one of the bloodier crime scenes she'd seen. She looked at Shawn; his eyes were impassive, distant, as they flittered analytically across the crime scene. Bloody hand prints and streaks were all over the apartment. Raymond had struggled, bleeding, dying and had wandered back further into the apartment. He was probably going for his telephone to call 911.

The cramped apartment smelled of incense. Shawn cocked his head to the side. He glanced down at a doll lying on the coffee table near the door. He'd seen something like it before, when he was in Louisiana after high school. It was a Voodoo doll.

He stepped into the main room of the apartment and frowned. There were a lot Voodoo objects in the apartment. His eyes finally settled on the victim. David was lying face down in a pool of his own blood. Shawn cocked his head; he could just see the edge of a bloody line on his neck. He inhaled deeply. The victim's neck had been slit, but definitely not by anyone who knew what they were doing; judging by the angle it had probably taken at least one agonizing minute for David to bleed out. Next to the body was a bloodied guitar string; chances were that was the murder weapon.

Shawn spun around and his eyebrows shot up; what he saw was most definitely a surprise. Written on the wall in blood was"Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live."

Shawn sighed grimly and turned to Juliet.

"You think it was a hate crime," he stuffed his hands in his pockets and shivered.

Juliet nodded grimly. "David Ray was a spiritual leader in the local Voodoo community; he'd been vocal in the local newspapers lately, trying to attract new followers."

Shawn pursed his lips then frowned. He closed his eyes and brought his hand up to the side of his head. Something about that theory felt off. Not wrong…just…not right either. His eyes shot open and he looked at Juliet. "The chain on the front door was intact," he said slowly.

Her eyebrows drew together slowly and she nodded, "There were no signs of forced entry," the Head Detective agreed.

"So whoever killed him was someone he let into his apartment," Shawn sighed; he doubted David had just let some angry bigot into his home.

Juliet nodded thoughtfully, "You think the Biblical quote is a misdirect?"

Shawn moved closer to the body. "I don't know what to think yet," he admitted quietly.

Shawn circled the body slowly, taking everything in; the scar on the man's left pinky finger, the slight graying of his hair. Then, in his peripheral something caught his eye. Shawn paused instantly and wheeled towards it.

Above the man's fireplace were six picture frames. Five of them were brightly colored photographs of David with friends and family. But one picture was in a sleek and slender black frame. It didn't have David, or anyone from any of the other pictures in it. It was a professional headshot of the actress Willow Paige.

Shawn cleared his throat, "Detective O'Hara," he called to her to get her attention. She came to his side quickly, and Shawn felt his stomach flip. Even after all these years it was amazing what just her presence could do to him. He plastered on a good natured grin, "One of these frames is not like the others," he chanted.

Juliet nodded, "The picture of Willow Paige, the actress from the new Green Spirit movie. We noticed that," she shrugged, "So what Shawn? He liked her?"

Shawn shook his head "No…it's not that," he glanced at the photos of David again and felt a sudden wave of déjà vu. He'd seen the victim before…at another crime scene. Closing his eyes, Shawn put his hand to his head and started sorting through crime scene after crime scene. His eyes shot back open in shock and he kicked himself for not recognizing Raymond right away.

"Jules, this could be very very bad," he murmured.

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_Yay! Finally actual plot. Well...some of it. Not much...but a bit of it!_

_Enjoy and Review!_


	4. Chapter 4

_Just...thought I would clarify something: I know the timeline in the summary is a little different than the legit timeline in the fic lol. The summary is only a rough sketch/outline. But the summary is way catchier than me saying: A little over foru years ago the Yin/yang case closed. 13 and a half months later Shawn left, 9 months later X happened etc. Make sense? I just...don't want people telling me about my horrible math skills lol, I know the timeline ;)_**

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June. 2011.

_Tilting his head back Shawn put his beer to his lips. Nothing happened. He turned the bottle upside down and groaned. He'd finished it? Shawn swayed as he turned around. The task in front of him would be difficult. His hand shook slightly. Meticulously he brought the bottle down to rest on top of the others and grinned. He'd done it; he'd constructed a pyramid out of his empty beer bottles._

_Chortling happily he turned back towards the mini golf green he'd set up and grabbed his club. He glanced at the clock. It was well after midnight; looked like he was staying at the Psych Office again tonight. Shawn closed one eye, gently swaying his club back and forth. With a soft 'tick' he hit the ball and grinned as it sunk right into the coffee cup he'd laid at the other end of his office._

_All those years on the road after high school had given him an impressive ability to hold his liquor. He chuckled, in awe of his own vast talent, and spun the club around his hand like a baton. It hit him in the face and he winced._

_Rubbing his hand over what was sure to be a goose egg in the morning Shawn swayed over to the couch and plopped down. Maybe golf hadn't been the best idea. He grinned. The latest book in the Internity series has come out-he'd bought it when he'd gone for beer. Rummaging through the 7-11 bag he yelled triumphantly when he found it. Sinking back against the couch he eagerly immersed himself in the problems and dating lives of Vampire doctors._

_Twenty pages in and he still couldn't forget the way Juliet had walked out of the Psych Office the day he'd told her everything._

_Twenty three pages in and Shawn couldn't stop thinking about how many weeks it had been since she'd spoken to him in anything other than an official police officer to police consultant capacity. She told him cold hard facts about the cases they were working and sent him on his way, rarely meeting her eyes, never joking, not giving him any sign at all that there was any hope for them to salvage their relationship. The only hope he had was what Gus had pointed out to him; they still had jobs, were still working cases, so obviously she hadn't told the Chief. It was something he supposed. But then, after two weeks of that pure misery, she'd cashed in the two weeks of vacation time she still had saved up from her trip to the Amalfi Coast with Declan that never happened. And he hadn't seen her since._

_Twenty five pages in and Shawn was so fed up with the hollow absurdity of the vampire doctors problems that he hurled the book across the room with all the might his inebriation allowed. It clanked harmlessly off of the fridge and dropped to the ground._

_He glanced over towards the fridge. What he really wanted was another beer. He rolled to his side, determined to extract himself from the couch. He slipped and crashed to the floor with a thud. Groaning he pushed himself over so he was laying on his back. It was surprisingly comfortable on the floor. He reached feebly for the blanket on the couch and pulled it over him and he was out cold within seconds._

**The Next Morning:**

_"Shawn?" Shawn groaned as light hit his eyes and he rolled over, using the couch to shade his eyes, "Shawn?"_

_"Not now Gus," he murmured, batting his hand towards the booming voice._

_"Gus?"_

_Shawn's eyes shot open. That voice was definitely not Gus's. He spun around quickly and felt the room spin. He blinked rapidly, staying absolutely still until only one confused looking Juliet was standing in front of him._

_Ignoring the throbbing pain in his head, Shawn stood up slowly; as if he was afraid moving would scare her off. "Jules?" he felt his mouth run dry. So this was it then. "What are you ah…doing here?" he forced his voice to remain even._

_She froze, knuckles white around the strap of her purse. "I…" she tilted her head, and as the sunlight hit her face Shawn could see the sparkle of tears, "I missed you," she admitted quietly, not moving._

_Shawn felt his throat tighten, "I missed you too," he whispered._

_Biting his lip Shawn remained quiet. He'd thought of a billion things to say to her in the weeks she'd been gone. But none of them felt good enough now._

_"Shawn I-"_

_"Juliet please," they spoke at the same time then blushed and stopped. Trying to stop his hand from trembling fearfully he motioned for her to continue._

_She didn't speak right away; she pursued her lips and took another moment to collect her thoughts. "I never should have left like I did," she declared. Then her voice cracked, "I'm so sorry."_

_Shawn stared at her silently. There was no reason for her to be apologizing. He shook his head slowly, "Jules…"_

_"Let me finish," she plead and he nodded silently._

_"The second I walked out of here…everything made sense," she hesitated. "I knew as soon as I started to leave that I could live with the truth," a tear trickled down her cheek, "And I knew I couldn't go back to not having you in my life Shawn. We fought for this-for us. I know that wasn't a lie," she swallowed hard, wrapping her arms around herself. A small half laugh/sob escaped her throat, and as much as Shawn wanted to run to her and hold her he was absolutely paralyzed with fear. After their last meeting he had no idea how this was going to play out, and last time he'd tried to touch her she'd cringed away from him. "And realizing that just…it made me so mad," her fists clenched against her sweater, "You bend every rule and every law in your path Shawn…" she shook her head sadly. "I've spent my entire life living by the law," a flash of anger crossed her face, "I arrested my own brother because he broke it. And then you come into my life and…you lie, you manipulate, you keep up one of the most impressive long cons in history-right under the departments nose," she let out a breath._

_Shawn felt his face go pale, and he started trying to pitch together some defense, some sort of protection to help shield himself from her killing blow. He realized feebly that he was defenseless. He'd given her the only two things he had to give her, two things that he'd never given to anyone else. His love and the truth. With a sentence she could crush him._

_"You do all of that and…and I want to let it slide. I don't want to turn you in, I don't want to see you in hand cuffs, I don't want you to go to jail," she trembled. "I'm a cop. Things are suppose to be black and white and you're just this giant grey area," another tear slipped down her cheek. "And I hated that you had that kind of power over me Shawn. I hated that you could make me disregard something I believe so strongly in, something I've pledged my life to protecting," she sighed, exhausted from weeks of agonizing over the situation. She swallowed and took a hesitant step towards him, aware of the way he watched her warily. He was so fragile, so much more broken than he wanted anyone to see. She reached out and gently put her hand to his cheek, her other hand pulled his limply from its place at his side and she brought it to her lips and kissed it tenderly. His face remained blank, guarded. "But," she licked her lips nervously and stared straight into his eyes, "I love you Shawn Spencer," she shivered, "More than I've ever loved anybody in my life," her hand trembled against his cheek-or maybe he trembled against her hand-"And if that means bending the rules than fine, because I'm not giving up on us. Not ever," she murmured, watching the drastic shift in his expression as her words sunk in._

_His eyes glistened and he swallowed hard. He let out a long breath that came out jagged and his grip on her hand increased. A large lopsided grin spread across his face ear to ear. She couldn't help the grin that spread across her face. Seeing him so happy just pulled it out of her. His hand came up and cupped her face; with his thumb he brushed away a stray tear that was trickling down her cheek. Without warning his lips crashed against hers and his hands were cupping her face and running through her hair and all over her as if he was making sure she was real. His breathe reeked of stale alcohol but despite that Juliet wrapped her arms around his neck, keeping him pressed tight against her even when they were forced to break apart for air._

_"Thank you," he murmured, his forehead resting against hers. She ran her hands through his hair, her nails scraping his scalp and she felt him shiver. She grinned._

_"I love you so much," she whispered._

_"I love you too," he whispered, his voice raw and husky._

_She beamed at him. The words were finally out there, all the cards were finally on the table and the crushing weight that had been on her shoulders for the last three weeks seemed to be completely gone. As Shawn slowly lowered her to the couch, their lips never breaking contact, Juliet felt like she was on cloud nine._

**June. 2015.**

"Shawn?"

Shawn blinked and jerked his head up, forcing himself to stop looking at the bright green couch in David's living room. Gritting his teeth he sighed and turned back to Juliet.

"A little less than a year ago Macintosh and I were the first responders to a homicide at a five star hotel in Vancouver," Shawn stuffed his hands in his pockets.

Juliet cocked her head in confusion, "Wait…you were a cop?" She knew he was still doing investigative work, but she'd assumed he'd moved Psych to Canada; she hadn't expected for him to get a real 9 to 5 job.

Shawn shrugged, "They don't like to hire outside consultants up there," she frowned, "I was still a psychic, I just…" he shifted uncomfortably, "I was officially considered a psychic police officer." She quirked an eyebrow, "It's Canada Jules," Shawn offered as if that explained everything. "Besides, I made Macintosh do all the paperwork."

Biting back a grin Juliet nodded. Of course.

"Anyways, we responded to the call and found the lead singer/songwriter from the rock band Death's Embrace lying in a pool of his own blood," his eyes darkened as he remembered the crime scene, "Luke Lee, age 23. Blunt force trauma to the head," he licked his lip, "It was nasty."

"I remember reading about that, but what's it have to do with David Raymond?"

"'And he that blasphemeth the name of the Lord, he shall surely be put to death'," Shawn recited. Juliet frowned. "It was written on the wall of Luke's hotel room; in his own blood."

"Another Bible quote," she pursued her lips. There could be a connection but it was a stretch; the murders hadn't even occurred in the same country.

"Death's Embrace drew a lot of controversy from some conservative religious groups for their lyrics," Shawn smiled grimly, "That's not all. I knew Raymond looked familiar but it took a minute for me to put it together, his picture was in the victim's apartment," he moved back towards the picture frame on the actress Willow Paige. "In a picture frame. A single black picture frame. It was lying on top of his luggage," Shawn pointed to the picture of Willow, "The frame looked just like this one."

Juliet sucked in a breath. If Shawn was saying what it sounded like…if they had an international serial killer on their hands... She frowned, "Shawn…you were the first responder?"

"That's right."

She hesitated. "Then didn't you catch the guy?"

Shawn's face turned red and he suddenly became very interested in the blacktop basketball game happening in the courtyard outside.

"Luke was a U.S citizen. The case was put in 'more capable' hands-international cases are…messy…and were considered above my pay grade," he grinned ruthfully. "The picture struck me as odd, but well, I wasn't on the case so..." he shrugged; there had been nothing for him to do.

Juliet frowned. Being told no had never stopped Shawn from investigating something. Ever. "And you just handed the case over? You didn't conduct your own investigation?"

Shawn's expression darkened. "Do you not remember what happened last time I did that Detective?" he murmured, his voice flat. Juliet flinched. Yes, she did remember; none of them would ever forget.

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_Let me totally try to guilt you guys into reviews: I had surgery today. Nothing too major but, reviews would make me feel better 8D._

_Just a thought._

_Enjoy and Review!_


	5. Chapter 5

_A break from the case: A little backround, a little Gus and Shawn bonding, a little bit from Juliet's perspective. _

_But come on guys! Reviews are seriously lacking! Updates are comign this fast b/c everyone as is carrying the review count. ;)_

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**January. 2012.**

_"Gus! Look at this!" Shawn said excitedly, pulling a small box from his jacket._

_Gus raised an eyebrow suspiciously as Shawn maneuvered his way around the office to Gus's desk. Shawn plopped down on the edge, sitting on what had been a neatly organized stack of paperwork. Gus pursed his lips, resisting the intense urge to scold his best friend only because he looked so excited about whatever was in his hand._

_Shawn popped the box open, revealing a simple but elegant diamond ring._

_Gus pursed his lips. "Shawn, I told you already, even if you need insurance for a major operation we are never reenacting the movie 'I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry," Gus crossed his arms defensively._

_Shawn blinked in surprise, his eyes going from Gus to the ring than back again. "What? Gus, first of all, you would totally marry me in that case. Second of all, this isn't for you," Shawn fidgeted nervously. He flicked the box open then closed. "It's for Jules," he shifted uncomfortably. "So…what do you think?" he shoved the ring across the desk to Gus._

_Gus inspected it, "Is it real?"_

_"What?" Shawn sounded offended, "Of course it's real!"_

_Gus nodded uncertainly, watching his best friend closely. Shawn had never talked about marriage before. Not seriously at least. Shawn's only serious thought about married life concerned what side of their shared, yard spanning swimming pool he wanted._

_And he and Juliet had not been going out that long. They'd only celebrated their one year anniversary in Vancouver a few months ago._

_"Well?" Shawn raised his eyebrows expectantly._

_Gus nodded slowly, "It's nice Shawn," he hesitated, "Are you sure about this?"_

_Shawn's expression turned serious. He shrugged himself off of Gus's desk and moved to the foosball table. He spun a line of players half heartedly. "I know it seems fast," he said slowly, "But Gus, I've never had a relationship last this long. Until I met Jules, I'd never had a one year anniversary before," he licked his lips and paused._

_"But that's just it Shawn, you've never had anything last this long before…the only other serious relationship you had was with Abigail and even that was…you were long distance or off and on for half of it," Gus folded his arms over his chest._

_Shawn nodded in agreement, "I know Gus, I know. But that's just it," he looked at his best friend, his expression completely serious and sure, "Jules is it. She knows the truth about me... She's stuck around for over a year now despite it and…" his knuckles gripped the side of the foosball table tightly, "She's the only one who would ever stick around this long," he got a far off smile on his face, "She gets almost as many of my references as you do," he looked at his best friend seriously, "It's her or…or I do end up that lonely eighty year old man hitting on every waitress I see," he swallowed hard. He loved her. Always would._

_Gus smiled. "Then congratulations Shawn," he hugged his best friend happily. Shawn breathed a sigh of relief. He'd needed his best friend to tell him he wasn't crazy for wanting this. "How are you going to ask her?"_

_Shawn's face paled. "I have absolutely no clue," he declared dejectedly._

**June. 2015.**

"Left! Left, left! Shawn left!" Gus instructed, then chuckled loudly as Shawn was eaten. Shawn sighed and took his hands off of the Pacman console in front of him. "A little rusty Shawn?" Gus challenged.

Shawn glared at him darkly. "They don't have Pacman in Canada Gus," Gus raised an eyebrow. "I've written to the Prime Minister about the issue but well…he hasn't responded," Shawn shook his head. "Needless to say, he won't be getting my vote in the next election."

Gus frowned, "Shawn, you aren't a Canadian citizen."

Shawn blinked. "Gus, it's Canada? Does that even matter?" Gus nodded thoughtfully. That was probably true. They moved over to the bumper cars. Shawn grinned mischievously. "Oh, we should go on these, buddy. Canada doesn't have them either," he jumped the fence and moved towards a car.

Gus took the extra five steps it took to reach the door to the bumper car arena and slide through the gate before settling into a car. He and Shawn were the only ones there. Gus grinned. This was hardly what he'd expected when Shawn had called his office, informed his secretary that Mrs. Pickles-bless her fake heart- had finally passed away and promptly got him excused from work for the rest of the day. Shawn had been sitting outside his office on the hood of his Echo and had proudly announced that they were about to have the best bachelor party ever.

The cars revved to life and soon they were weaving in between the other immobile cars, aiming up hits at the others vehicle. Shawn delivered a severe side swipe and laughed, before spinning his car deftly behind another car, avoiding Gus's retaliatory attack.

Gus frowned. The look of glee that was plastered on Shawn's face didn't quite meet his eyes; which were far off like he was lost in thought. Gus sighed. Shawn had gone to see Juliet earlier. He should have known his best friend would be…distracted.

"So, how was it?" Gus said finally, hoping he could work his best friend through whatever he was dealing with quickly so that they could enjoy the night.

Shawn smiled sheepishly; embarrassed he'd been caught so zoned out. He spun himself behind another car, but not before Gus clipped his bumper. "It was…fine," Shawn shrugged. There wasn't really another word for it. Juliet had been polite, professional. He'd expected yelling, maybe a 'stay the hell away from me,' but he definitely hadn't anticipated the slight teasing or the sad but knowing looks she had given him.

Gus swerved between cars, aware that Shawn was coming after him, "Just fine?"

Shawn nodded as he smashed into Gus's front bumper. "She invited me to look at a crime scene," Shawn spun his wheel expertly to avoid an out of use bumper car.

Gus stiffened, "You went to a crime scene without me?"

Shawn winced, "Well it was sort of a spur of the moment thing Gus," he defended. "Besides, you have a 'real job'!" Shawn mimicked. He bit back a grin as Gus pursed his lips.

"Fine. But if Lassiter brings you in on the case, then I'm coming too," Gus huffed, glaring angrily as Shawn maneuvered to pin his best friend's car between his bumper and the wall.

Shawn laughed, "I doubt that's going to happen. Psych isn't even official anymore." He knew Gus had put the office space up for sale; it had been at his request after all.

Gus shrugged, "Well, he's let me in on a few cases."

Shawn froze in surprise and Gus used the opportunity to slam into Shawn's bumper car, sending the car skidding. Shawn struggled to regain control. "He's done what?"

Gus nodded, "There have been a few cases that have dealt with pharmaceutical grade drugs. He's called me," he explained nonchalantly.

Shawn laughed, "Even though you're dating his baby sister?"

Gus's face darkened, "He couldn't really complain. Two months before Lauren came back to town Lassiter was promoted to Chief," Shawn moved to hit Gus's car and Gus swerved easily to avoid the attack."There was a party for him and alcohol was involved and…," he shivered, "Joy was in town," Gus finished curtly.

Shawn's eyebrows shot up. "He hooked up with your sister first?"

Gus grit his teeth and nodded. Shawn grimaced. He did not like to think that he and Lassie could ever have had similar taste in women. Shawn spun the wheel, "Huh, well now I understand why Lassie didn't arrest you when he found out," he chuckled.

Their time ended and the cars lurched to a stop. Shawn popped out of his car and helped Gus to his feet. "Seriously Shawn," Gus scrutinized his friend, "How are you?"

Shawn stared at Gus quietly for a moment before grinning, "Let's do the laser tag next," he slapped Gus on the arm and moved past him.

"Shawn!"

"Gus," Shawn shook his head, "Don't worry about me."

Gus growled as he watched Shawn head towards the entrance to the laser tag facility. He had really been hoping his friend was doing better than that.

**June. 2015. Across Town.**

"To the lovely bride to be," Juliet tipped her glass and Lauren Lassiter, soon to be Lauren Guster, laughed as she raised hers to clink it against her maid of honors. The music of the club pulsed around them as the two women sat at a table overlooking the club. Juliet tucked a strand of hair behind her ear self consciously. This was hardly her scene, but Lauren, who was a few years younger, still enjoyed the loud blaring music.

Lauren sipped her martini and watched the DJ. "I have to admit…I'm excited," she giggled.

Juliet cocked an eyebrow, "Oh?"

"I've only ever seen Gus completely drunk once before," she smirked, "When he comes home from his bachelor party tonight…" she chuckled, "Well, it could be interesting," she leaned forward, "Last time he insisted on singing Ebony and Ivory with me on our karaoke machine."

Juliet grinned. She could believe that. "I hate to disappoint you Lauren, but Shawn's organizing Gus's bachelor party," she sipped her drink.

Lauren looked at her quizzically, "So?" From everything Gus-and the few tidbits Juliet had been willing to reveal-told her about Shawn, her fiancé's best friend was a wild child. And Lauren remembered him from her time filming the documentary; Shawn was hard to forget, and definitely a character.

"Gus is probably eating Jerk Chicken and watching John Hughes movies right now," Juliet smirked. She knew Shawn. Alcohol wasn't for the good times; just the bad ones. "Gus has had maybe one beer," Juliet chuckled.

Lauren's smile fell and she pursued her lips. "But Gus told me about what happened at the Mexican border. Both times!" Shawn was a good guy. She'd seen so herself. But he was also irresponsible and a lose canon.

Juliet raised an eyebrow. She still didn't know what had happened at the Mexican border.

"I could be wrong," Juliet admitted. The Shawn Spencer she had seen at her crime scene today…he wasn't the same person that he was four years ago, and it wasn't just the beard or the buzz cut that had thrown her for a loop. She took a sip of her drink; she wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad one.

Lauren looked at her intensely, "Are you ok with this?"

"With what?"

"With your ex being the best man? With having to be around him after…everything?"

Juliet smiled sadly, "Four years is a long time to stay angry," she shrugged. She didn't have the desire or the energy to stay mad at Shawn. Mainly, thinking about everything that happened just created a hollow feeling in her chest. But working with him at the crime scene had felt so…normal. She swallowed hard; she'd missed it. Missed him.

Lauren didn't look convinced. "You sure?"

Juliet wasn't but she knew Lauren. And Lauren, unlike her brother, was very interested in Juliet's personal life. "Yeah," she answered with practices casualness.

Lauren sat her drink down and leveled Juliet with an intense stare. "Juliet, in all the time I've known you, you have only dated one guy," Juliet rolled her eyes. This wasn't the first time she'd heard this, "And at best he was a rebound from Shawn," Juliet glared at her friend.

"Scott wasn't a rebound," Juliet defended half heartedly and she shifted in her seat, "Besides, I'm the Head Detective now…it takes a toll on your personal life."

Lauren just gave her best friend a look which clearly said she didn't buy it one bit. Lauren sighed and she looked around the club. "Come on," she grinned mischievously, "Let's go find you a date to my wedding," she winked and dragged Juliet to her feet.

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_Before anyone spazzes...I don't think Juliet's going to find a date to the wedding. Unless...hmm...I wonder what Cameron Luntz is up to these days. No?_

_Enjoy and Review!_


	6. Chapter 6

_So sorry about the delay guys. Between the surgery, school starting up again, and my roommate wanting to marathon season one of Prison Break I have been kinda busy. (really, its all my roommates fault;) )And then I got my other friend addicted to Psych...so I was rewatching Psych with her...I've been very unproductive ok!_**

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January. 2012.

_"I got it Gus!" Shawn jumped up and down excitedly. "I'll take Juliet up in a hot air balloon and propose to her over Santa Barbara." Sirens wailed loudly behind them._

_Gus frowned. "And what happens if you drop the ring?"_

_Shawn's face fell. "That would be a problem," he admitted. With a dejected sigh he slid under the crime scene tape and headed towards the East National Bank._

_They jogged up the steps of the bank and latest crime scene. "Well what about-Jules!" Shawn plastered an innocent grin over his face as his girlfriend approached. Juliet cocked an eyebrow._

_"Hi Shawn," she grinned and watched as the two best friends exchanged not so secret glances at each other. "What's going on?" she asked sweetly, smirking at her oh-so-obviously-up-to-something-boyfriend._

_Shawn snapped his mouth shut. He swallowed and smiled casually, "I was just about to ask you the same thing Jules," he gestured towards the bank._

_Juliet's face turned grim, "Bank robbery. Five robbers came in, took $50,000, shot and killed the bank manager…then managed to get away. Wait-did the Chief call you in? I thought you were working the home invasions in Romero Park?"_

_"Oh that's solved. It was the head of the neighborhood watch committee," Shawn shrugged, much more fascinated by this new case, even though they hadn't 'officially' been called in on it yet; he loved his police scanner. It was so useful for dropping in on crime scenes without an invitation._

_He pursed his lips as he considered Jules's words. Fifty thousand was a pretty small amount of money to steal from a bank. He glanced down the street. Three armored cars were parked outside. Which meant that money was being transferred to or from the bank right before-or as-the robbery had happened. There was more money vulnerably sitting outside the bank then what the robbers made off with. They easily could have taken more without even stepping foot inside the bank. Heck, they could have taken the money from the armored cars as they left._

_The trio made their way inside the building. Black and whites were taking witness statements while forensics guys were snapping pictures of the dead bank manager and trying to collect forensic evidence._

_The bank manager was a short balding man in his fifties. He was slumped against a blood stained wall. Shawn counted five bullet wounds in his chest. Shawn pursed his lips. That seemed way too excessive for a random killing-especially at such short range._

_The fake psychic put his hand to his head, "I am sensing that this was about more than just money," he said cryptically._

_"You're right Spencer," Lassiter glared as he strode towards the psychic, "It was about a lot of money," he glanced back at the crime scene, "Unfortunately when they heard the police sirens they panicked, shot the bank manager and left before he'd had a chance to let them into the vault," Lassiter smiled sarcastically at the consultants. "This is a bank robbery, not the Thomas Crown affair. We can handle it on our own."_

_Shawn grinned, about to retort and comment on his amazement that Lassiter had made a movie reference when another voice joined the conversation. "Actually, you won't be handling this case at all Detective," a surly, well groomed man in a black suit said as he waltz up to them. "Edward Summers, DEA," he produced his badge._

_Shawn pursed his lips, "Really? If you're going to make up a secret government agency at least give it a better name than that," he huffed._

_Juliet closed her eyes. Sometimes Shawn was painfully unaware, "The DEA is the Drug Enforcement Administration Shawn," she explained slowly._

_Shawn grinned and winked at her. Juliet rolled her eyes and managed to fight off the smile that threatened the corners of her lips; her boyfriend knew what the DEA was, he just loved being infuriating more than he loved sounding intelligent._

_Lassiter bristled. "Why is the DEA getting involved?" he asked, brushing his hand against his jacket casually, revealing his holstered gun. The DEA didn't impress him and he didn't need them hampering his investigation._

_Summers smiled suavely, "Martin Welsh, you're dead bank manager, has been a person of interest to us for some time. We believe he has ties to Jack Moretti."_

_"The Moretti family? As in the mob?" Juliet crossed her arms, unable to stop her eyes from darting quickly to Shawn. Her boyfriend looked delighted by this new revelation. She glared at him openly until he managed to wipe the gigantic grin off of his face. Even after being shot and learning that a serial killer had stalked him his entire life, Shawn still managed to see every new case as a fun game or puzzle to solve and not as something that could get him hurt, arrested, or killed._

_"Indeed. We believe he managed their finances," Summers agreed, brushing dust off the shoulder of his impeccable suit._

_Much to Juliet's horror, this information seemed to excite Lassiter as well, "You think it was a rival mob hit?" she could almost see the cogs turning in her partners eyes. Lassiter had been dying to shoot somebody all week-mobsters would be the perfect source to work out his aggression on._

_Summers scratched his chin, "Not exactly. We have reason to suspect that Welsh was skimming money from the Moretti's for months. The DEA believes that Jack Moretti found out and order a hit on Welsh to set an…example," he shrugged casually._

_Shawn furrowed his brow then shook his head, "That's completely absurd. Look around, there are no cement shoes or even a baseball bat to bust knee caps with," he pursed his lips; if the DEA was right-which he highly doubted-then this was a lamest mob hit ever._

_"So?" Summers sounded bored._

_"So? Jack Moretti has ordered hits before. He's a fan of the classics," Gus chimed in._

_Summers smiled insincerely, "I'm sorry, who are you exactly?" He glanced between the consultants and detectives with open disdain._

_Shawn grinned, "I'm Shawn Spencer, Head Psychic for the SBPD. And this is my associate Ichabod Cranium," he nodded to Gus._

_Summer giggled and turned his attention to Lassiter, "You hire Psychics?"_

_"Psychic. Singular. Not Psychics. Ichabod just has a magical Cranium," Shawn moved his hands around Gus's head, gesturing to its perfection._

_Summers continued to chuckle, "Well, I can tell you right now Psychic…" his tongue darted out across his lips as he leaned towards Shawn menacingly, "I don't want you anywhere near my crime scene." He shoved his index finger into Shawn's collar bone forcefully._

_Holding back a wince, Shawn glanced around the bank, "I don't see your name on it anywhere," he shrugged and smiled innocently. This guy was more entertaining than Lassie._

_"Get this clown out of here," Summers turned to Lassiter angrily._

_Lassiter smiled tightly. He'd rather work with Spencer than with this government yuppie but it wasn't his call. "Right away," he muttered gritting his teeth. "Spencer," he hissed warningly as Shawn opened his mouth to protest._

_Shawn stomped his foot angrily. "Man, come on Gus," the psychic sighed and started towards the exit._

_"We aren't really backing off are we?" Gus asked dejectedly._

_"Gus, when have we ever done that?" Shawn was horrified by the very idea of abandoning a case. "We'll just conduct our own investigation and beat the police-and in this case the federal government-to the real suspects," Shawn grinned and raised his fist._

_Gus raised his and they fist bumped. "You know that's right."_

**June. 2015.**

Shawn frowned as he strode through the front door of the SBPD. It had been years since he'd walked through these halls. His expression darkened. He could still remember the last time he had.

"Shawn?" Juliet's eyes were wide in surprise as she froze mid stride. "What are you doing here?"

"I got a call from Lassiter," Shawn explained with a frown.

Juliet blinked in surprise. "Seriously?"

Shawn nodded. Yeah. It had been weird to him too. "He left a message," Shawn smiled, "Since the Raymond murder might be connected to the one from Vancouver he wanted to bring me in, at least for a little while; see if I notice any other similarities," Shawn explained shifting awkwardly.

"I see," Juliet nodded.

Shawn licked his lips, "Look, Juliet," he sighed, "If this is too weird or... uncomfortable I understand," he swallowed. "I can tell Lassiter no."

Juliet smiled slightly, "No Shawn, its fine." Was it wrong that she really didn't mind having him around? She swallowed hard; the station had been way too quiet for much too long.

They stayed silent for a long moment, "Well," Juliet said finally, "I was just on my way to the Chief's office. We brought Willow Paige in."

Shawn grinned until a realization struck him, "Oh crap! I promised Gus I'd bring him in on this!" He pulled out his phone, "I'll be right there," he excused himself.

"Gus! We've got a case," Shawn said excitedly when his friend picked up the phone.

"What? Shawn where are you?" Gus smiled; it had been way too long since his best friend had said those words to him.

"I'm at the police department. And Gus," Shawn grinned widely, "Guess who's in Lassie's office right now?"

"Halle Berry?"

Shawn paused, "Well…no," Gus grumbled, "But-Willow Paige is."

Gus made a small gasping noise, "Willow Paige? As in the former cover girl for Sports Illustrated and the lead actress from the new Green Spirit movie?"

"The one and only buddy,"

Gus made another squeaking noise and then coughed, "You know…Mrs. Pickles death has been very difficult," Shawn could practically see Gus's grin through the phone, "I think I might need some more time off work. I'll be right over."

Pocketing his phone, Shawn chuckled as he waltzed towards Lassie's office. It had been too long since he'd worked a case with his best friend. He felt a flutter of excitement in his chest and paused. It had been years since he'd felt excited about a case.

Shawn flung the double doors to the office open with more force than was necessary. He had never been able to resist the opportunity to irritate the perpetually grumpy Irish Detective, and this latest antic did just that.

"Ah, Lassie," he grinned enthusiastically as the Chief of Police clenched his fists silently. "Miss me?"

Juliet tried unsuccessfully to bite back a smile as Carlton growled and muttered something unintelligible under his breath.

Not waiting for a response, Shawn glanced around the room and pursed his lips, "Where's Willow?" The only blonde in the room was Juliet.

"Right here," a loud bubble gum pop punctuated the words as a girl with cropped raven black hair turned to look at Shawn. Shawn's eyes widened; the Willow Paige in front of him was riddled with piercings and tattoos. She looked nothing like her head shot or any of her Sports Illustrated covers.

Shawn nodded his head slowly, "In person you look a little more Noomi Rapace than Amanda Seyfried," he smiled confidently, oblivious to the way Juliet bristled behind him.

The actress smirked, "I get that a lot…sort of," she openly checked him out.

Juliet cleared her throat, "We were just telling Ms. Paige about her potential connection to the Raymond murder," she said calmly, determined to get the conversation back on track.

Willow rolled her eyes. "Look, it's sad that someone killed that guy. But I have no idea who he is."

"No," Juliet said calmly. They'd already explained all of this to the rather stubborn actress. "But, there's reason to believe that David Raymond's killer sees a connection between the two of you," she cut the younger girl off as she attempted to retort, "Whether or not a legitimate connection actually exists."

The actress huffed irritably, "Let's be clear Detective," she leveled Juliet with her most bored glare, "I'm only here because the company signing my paycheck insisted on my cooperation with your 'investigation'." Willow used air quotes and smirked when she saw Lassiter's ears turn red. She turned her attention back to Shawn and again allowed her eyes to wander up and down his body appreciatively.

Juliet grit her teeth, resisting the urge to role her eyes; this bitch was already starting to get on her nerves.

* * *

_These guys are having a super tough time. They have to deal with Edward Summers AND Willow Paige. Their lives are hard._

_I'm hoping to continue pretty rapid updates. However, school started up again and I'm taking a screenwriting class, (which, surprise surprise, does have to come first-it sucks, I know)_

_Enjoy and Review!_


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